Why You Should Use SMS Messaging to Grow Your Business in 2020

• November 20, 2019
• Author: Jana Carlson

If you knew that 80% of your target market and customer base spoke in a different language, would you learn the language? Hire translators to adapt your marketing materials? Make sure your salespeople were bilingual? 

Without accommodating the form of communication your customers prefer, you miss out on huge opportunities. 

Why Your Business Should Use SMS Messaging

If your customers are in North America, you have an opportunity to connect with more of them using SMS Messaging in your business communications. Text messaging is used by 80% of North Americans (Source).

Businesses are adopting SMS messaging for marketing and customer service with excellent results. SMS open rates as high as 98% far exceed most other forms of digital marketing. Even text message replies at 45% show the strength and effectiveness of SMS for business (Source).

Still not convinced? Consider these recent statistics:

• 85% of customers prefer receiving text messages over a phone call or email.
• 68% of consumers would like to use mobile messaging to contact a company with billing questions or concerns.
• A majority (71%) of consumers say using text messaging to communicate with a business was effective. 
• 64% of consumers think companies who text value their time, are progressive and would recommend them to others.

(See here for more stats about SMS messaging.) 

SMS Messaging & Queuing

Without the SMS Messaging feature available with a cloud communications system, text messaging for businesses can be inconvenient, complicated and costly. 

At UnitedCloud, we resolve common business messaging issues. Your business can incorporate SMS Messaging without requiring employees to use personal mobile phones or investing in dedicated mobile devices for customer service staff. 

We can make your existing numbers SMS-capable without any downtime or interruption in service. Now clients can text you on the numbers they’ve always used. 

Your business phone number can be used by anyone on your staff to send and receive text messages through SMS. The online portal or the softphone app make this function easily accessible from anywhere. New or existing business phone numbers can be converted to send and receive SMS Messages. 

Does your business have customer service or sales queues? The SMS Messaging & Queuing features allow you to send and receive messages from a central number while sharing those messages with a team of agents. Customer care can be handled more efficiently and with clear team collaboration.

An example of a specific way to use this function would be your website “Contact” information. You can have one text messaging number for sales and another for customer service or technical support. Your website can then connect customers with the appropriate team. 

• “Text this number for questions about our product.” All messages to this number can go to your sales team. 
• “Text this number for technical support.” All messages to this number can go to your tech support team. 
• “Text this number for billing inquiries.” All messages to this number can go to your customer service team.

3 Reasons to Use SMS Messaging for Business

1. Gain the Competitive Advantage: The statistics make it clear that text messaging is popular. Using it to connect with your customers gives you a valuable advantage over competitors who haven’t kept up with the times. Become an early adopter while SMS Messaging for business is still new! 
2. Easy, Convenient Communication: Emails get lost in inboxes (or cyberspace). Phone tag could be a competitive sport. SMS Messaging is quick and gets responses. Brief questions are answered in seconds. Group texts simplify collaboration and planning. And texting coworkers from your office phone console is easy from your desktop computer or mobile device. 
3. Enhance Customer Satisfaction: Customers who prefer the convenience of text messaging will be impressed by the ability to communicate with your business using their method of choice. Your response times can increase with SMS Queuing, further exceeding customer expectations. 

Ready to take your business to the next level in 2020? Contact a UnitedCloud specialist for more information about SMS Messaging or Queuing.